A Brief Guide to First World War British Soldiers' Small Kit. January 2021.

In our first Hutted Histories talk of 2021, we have a followup to the Whistlestop Guide to British Uniforms and Equipment HH Talk we gave last July. Taff talks about the kit that British soldiers carried inside their pockets, packs and haversacks.

[@jeffrozee1650]

Great video Taff! Personal small kit of the great war is one of my favourite subjects. Thanks!

[@GreatWarHuts]

Jeff Rozee Thanks, Jeff!

[@ClarenceCochran-ne7du]

It's fascinating how much they had to carry, yet how little they really posedsed. I always thought the idea of carrying so much when they went over the top, to be a rather silly practice. In battle, the less extra weight not needed, the better.

[@robertstallard7836]

Assault troops would wear Fighting Order (FO). This was simply ammunition carriers, water canteen, entrenching equipment, bayonet, respirator and the 'haversack', which usually contained your days emergency ration, spare socks and eating kit. Which of those items would you NOT want to be carrying?

[@redryder8622]

Great video. Apologies it’s taken so long to find it. Very much appreciate the effort that went into presenting what the soldiers kit was like.

[@carldycer]

That’s an excellent little video and a great education. I got some great snippets of knowledge as usual. Thanks Taff.

[@GreatWarHuts]

Thank you very much, Carl 😁👍

[@SimonAmazingClarke]

Very interesting. I have jyst published a book that includes part of the First World War. My great grandfather received the 1914 Star. It was a part of history that I was unaware of.

[@valles_marineris8955]

This is pure gold. Congratulations Taff

[@GreatWarHuts]

Thank you very much.

[@terrywoodham8419]

As always so good very informative and I learned a lot please more more more. Thank you for doing these fantastic .

[@GreatWarHuts]

Our pleasure, Terry. Thank you very much.

[@alanbrockbank383]

Thanks Taff again another excellent talk

[@GreatWarHuts]

Alan Brockbank Thank you very much, Alan!

[@CalicoJack1803]

Excellent video! Thank you for sharing.

[@grenadier185]

Great video Taff! Look forward to next months.

[@GreatWarHuts]

Sam Thanks, Sam!

[@josephturner4047]

"What are you doing Baldrick?" " I'm writing my name on this bullet sir".

[@derekdavy4824]

Fascinating to see so many of the things bequeathed to me by my father and uncles put into their original context. A really fluent presentation which complemented the earlier talk on equipment.l

[@GreatWarHuts]

Thank you very much indeed, Derek

[@TwoMikesProductions]

Cracking video Taff!

[@GreatWarHuts]

Thanks, Mike!

[@thestubblestrider1984]

Cracking video mate , Loved it Cheers for the information and guidance ,Thank you mate

[@GreatWarHuts]

Our pleasure!

[@russelldoherty5416]

Another very good video Taff!

[@GreatWarHuts]

Russell Doherty Thanks, Russ!

[@bertbigballs]

Thank you for a very interesting video.

[@barbarajohnson8097]

Really interesting, thank you as usual

[@GreatWarHuts]

Thank you very much, Bobbie!

[@sgtg4600]

Really enjoyed that. A very informative video. 👍

[@GreatWarHuts]

Thank you very much indeed! 👍🏻

[@s.rmurray8161]

I was issued the red /green dog tags by the RAF in the 1980's in Gemany. (still have them somewhere!) you were wrong about the pull through, the brass weight goes in the breech end and out the muzzle so that any debris in the barrel is pulled out of the rifle and not into the gun mechanism. You will also note that the pull through has two loops, one in the middle one at the end.. You always put the 4x2 in the middle loop, because if you get the pull through jammed up in the barrel for whatever reason you can use the end loop to pull it back out again.

[@ClarenceCochran-ne7du]

Correct. Here in the US, there's been a resurgent interest in Pull Through, or Bore Snakes as they're commonly called here. As a Range Safety Officer, I've watched and have had to frequently correct shooters in the use of pull through/bore snakes.

[@ClarenceCochran-ne7du]

I forgot to add, that modern Bore Snakes are made out of woven cloth, some with brass bristles sized to the bore woven halfway along the length. This ending the need for a patch. They still use a weighted brass end for feeding the snake into the bore. A hundred years later, and though the materials have changed, the tool is still used. There's Pros and Cons to bore snakes. They really aren't meant to replace a proper cleaning and servicing of the weapon, but as a quick clean to remove barrel fouling in the field to keep the weapon up and running. Even though we'd moved to Nitrocellulose powders by the Great War and not Black Powder (which was horribly fouling), the powders of that era still left a certain amount of residue Everytime a shot was fired.

[@raychesworth6352]

Informative and educational as always, Taff.

[@GreatWarHuts]

Ray Chesworth Thank you very much, Ray 👍

[@wufongtanwufong5579]

I like the way he totally dismissed what the people who were there did, because of his logic.. That was extremely educational

[@darrenhiggins9601]

Really interesting videos - keep up the great work

[@GreatWarHuts]

Thank you very much, Darren 👍

[@marksimner8734]

Fab video, Taff 😃👍

[@GreatWarHuts]

Thank you very much, Mark!

[@RiflemanMoore]

Most enjoyable as usual.

[@GreatWarHuts]

Rifleman Moore Thanks very much, RM 👍

[@ramseygreen808]

Love the 14 Pattern Taff!

[@GreatWarHuts]

So d So do we, Ramsey!

[@1969kingperry]

Hi you were talking about the green and red dog tags . I joined the royal marine commandos in 1987 and we were still issued the green and red dog tags we were not issued the metal ones until 1990. I still have my green and red ones now and also my metal ones

[@JoeHinojosa-ph8yw]

PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES IN YOUR OLD KIT BAG AND SMILE, SMILE, SMILE! Sez Old Bill!

[@williamgrech930]

Fantastic subject. Can you please show us how to fold the great coat?

[@behindthespotlight7983]

Another great video. Shares with my twitter friends

[@alancranford3398]

There's another reason for limiting rifle ammunition quantities--riflemen became casualties. This left rifles and ammunition on the battlefield--ammo that could have been better used by the living. During World War Two the basic rifle ammunition load was 50 rounds and any additional ammunition was for the BREN gun.

[@OlgierdVonEverecc]

I love the jacket and backpack styles. Where can I buy something similar

[@andypeebles2242]

I was issued red and green ID discs when I joined the RAF in 1984, metal discs weren't issued until much later.

[@GreatWarHuts]

Further research shows that the fibre discs were replaced with stainless steel in the British Army in 1960, but the fibre were still in use by the RAF as late as 1999.

[@behindthespotlight7983]

Please make more videos ❤️

[@vkeshav3519]

do you know how different the hygiene/personals kits were for commonwealth armies like the Indian expeditionary force ?

[@jasonnicholasschwarz7788]

Imagine 20000 of these, scattered about noman's land on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. So sad. All these little personal items they used all the time. That stuff is so closely connected to each man. Everyone who's been on holiday with only a small suitcase knows how dear your personal belongings are to you. The daily rituals like brushing your teeth, shaving, cleaning, and also taking it off an putting it back on, buttoning shirts, buckling belts, tieing shoelaces. I always have to thing of the last time they'd do that, unaware or maybe not, that this time, they would die the way they dressed this morning or night or whenever they happened to last put on their kit. Sad beyond words.

[@DangRockets]

A great talk as always. On the subject of Paybooks. Were they left behind with the packs when going over the top, or were they always in the breast pocket, no matter what he was doing, did this change as the war went on?

[@GreatWarHuts]

As a general rule, the only time that the men didn't carry paybooks was on a trench raid when their paybook, identity discs and shoulder titles were all left behind. The rest of the time they were always carried with them.

[@charlescth]

16th Lancers Razor. I was 16/5L '83-94!

[@GreatWarHuts]

Was it your razor, Charles?! :o)

[@charlescth]

Cheeky!

[@axlefish]

Hi there. In relation to the large packs, I am pretty sure these would of been taken into the trenches during the Winter months.

[@GreatWarHuts]

They were certainly not taken into the trenches during the Winter. They wore their Greatcoats from the time they left the rear area so had no need of any of the rest of the kit in the Pack.

[@Nooziterp1]

How did they manage to get all that into a pack that small?🤔

[@adammacdonald8553]

Did they not wear their packs at Loos. I was under the impression that that was the last battle they had to wear their packs in. Great video absoloutly fascinating 👍

[@GreatWarHuts]

Thank you very much, Adam. The photographs of the Liverpool Scottish under fire on the Bellewarde Ridge in June 1915 shows them already wearing haversacks in battle rather than the packs. We have notes for 7/Suffolk at Loos which indicate that haversacks were worn, not packs. Most contemporary illustrations show haversacks worn in the small of the back, or on the side with nothing on the back so it's probably safe to say that the packs were not worn by the majority, if not all those taking part at Loos - but always happy to learn otherwise!

[@adammacdonald8553]

@@GreatWarHuts Thank you very much I am always happy to learn more. I have a relative that was at Bellewarde in May 1915 with the PPCLI. An excellent video which I have been looking for, for months.

[@ivananderson5041]

Do you use pound still in UK 🇬🇧 or do you use kilos?

[@harry9392]

I heard some guys would have spare magazine for the SMLE scavenged from were the could or was it faster to load from stripper clips.

[@GreatWarHuts]

The chargers were much faster. The only two reasons that the magazine should be removed from a Lee Enfield was to clean it and unload it in the dark 👍

[@andrewflindall9048]

At the risk of being branded a pedant, Field Service Manual 1914 Infantry Battalion (Expeditionary Force) actually specifies two pairs of socks - one pair worn, one pair carried in the pack: www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/-war-office-and-pawn-books/field-service-manual-1914-infantry-battalion-expeditionary-force/paperback/product-qw25q6.html?page=1&pageSize=4 War Establishments Part 1 Expeditionary Force 1914 and War Establishments of New Armies 1915 are also available there. Great presentation, though. Thank you.

[@GreatWarHuts]

Andrew Flindall It looks like a slip of the tongue, Andrew! It’s corrected later when Taff makes the point that the pair he takes out of the Pack is the third (later war) pair as he says that there is a pair in the Haversack (and the soldier is wearing the other pair!).

[@GreatWarHuts]

Andrew Flindall We have originals of all those manuals!

[@andrewflindall9048]

Don't worry - I did watch it all the way through and picked up on that! I should've waited to comment...

[@GreatWarHuts]

@@andrewflindall9048 No problem! We like to be kept on our toes!!

[@rsv_k7928]

Is the tunic original? Nice video with lots of useful information, thanks!

[@GreatWarHuts]

Thank you very much. We have plenty of originals but use repros for talks like this so they don't get damaged.

[@rsv_k7928]

@@GreatWarHuts do you know who reproduced the tunic in the video? It looks really good and could pass as an original.

[@GreatWarHuts]

@@rsv_k7928 Yes, it's one of our own Khaki Devil repro jackets.

[@rsv_k7928]

@@GreatWarHuts wow! Are they for sale somewhere?

[@GreatWarHuts]

I don't know what sizes we have left but we will certainly have some. I'm not in next week but, if you get in touch the week after, I will have a look for you.

[@tobiasbourne9073]

Is all the kit original? Also do you know why people call the pack the valise?

[@robyuill6945]

Valise is a French Term for a travelling bag or suitcase. It came into British Military use in the later half of the 19th Century replacing the term Knapsack for the item of equipment used by the soldier to carry his spare clothing and necessaries (the kit he used to live with, keep himself and his equipment in a good serviceable state). It was first used with the 1870 pattern equipment where the oil cloth and leather bag he wore on his back was termed the Valise. The word then stayed in use in subsequent sets of equipment for the soldier, including with the introduction of the 1908 pattern equipment. The Original Mills Equipment description of the large pack is as The Valise. It was distinct from the Haversack, which later became known as the 'small pack', as the haversack was specifically what a soldier carried his rations and eating utensils in. The terms, large pack and small pack seem to have come into general use with the creation of the New Army and the influx of civilians into uniform, then becoming thene the commonly used names, replacing Valise and Haversack.

[@GreatWarHuts]

We have original examples of all the kit we use in the talk in the Great War Huts collection, Tobias, but some of the kit we use for the talk is replica so that the real items don't get damaged.

[@tobiasbourne9073]

@@robyuill6945 Thanks mate

[@tobiasbourne9073]

@@GreatWarHuts That’s really cool having so much original

[@worldwarbricks7966]

Is this stuff all original?

[@GreatWarHuts]

We have original examples of all of these in our display collections but use a mix of real and repro for the talks rather than risk damaging 100+ year old items. 👍🏻

[@worldwarbricks7966]

@@GreatWarHuts ah thank you for clearing that up that seems the smarter option! I'm just starting my own ww1 kit, I will be portraying a private In the 2nd battalion Irish Guards

[@GreatWarHuts]

World War Bricks Our pleasure, and good luck with your portrayal 😁👍🏻

[@worldwarbricks7966]

@@GreatWarHuts thank you! 👍🏻

[@beefcakes27]

Pants? Don't you mean trousers? My Grandparents are from the UK, my mother born in USA and she still called pants, trousers when I was growing up..!

[@GreatWarHuts]

The pants reference is to underpants, not trousers.

[@beefcakes27]

@@GreatWarHuts got it...

[@GreatWarHuts]

@@beefcakes27 :)